1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piston and seal assembly of a piston reciprocating in a cylinder of a compressor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Piston rings are used to provide a sealing interface between a stationary cylinder bore and a moveable piston reciprocating therein. An example of such a sealing interface is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,143 to Nomura et al. (the '143 patent).
The '143 patent discloses a piston seal interface for a compressor wherein a piston is slidably mounted in a cylinder bore and the piston has a circumferential groove with a resilient ring disposed in the groove. The circumferential groove has a centrally recessed bottom wall that allows the ring to be deformed in such a way that the pair of outer corner edges contact the cylinder bore. This configuration provides an increased sealing force at both the intake and discharge stage thereby increasing frictional contact and static torque between the piston ring and cylinder wall.